The much anticipated Memorandum of Understanding for the 2023 Hajj has been signed Monday between the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) and the Saudi Ministry of Hajj at a colourful ceremony held at the Super Dome Centre, Jeddah Saudi Arabia.
The Minister of state for Foreign Affairs, Amb. Zubair Dada signed the document on behalf of Nigeria and was witnessed by chairman CEO of NAHCON ,Alh. Zikrullah Kunle Hassan, the three executive Commissioners,Alh Nura Hassan Yakassai, Alh.Abdullahi Magaji Hardawa and Sheikh Suleman Mommoh, board members and staff of the commission.
One of the highlight of the document is the confirmation of 95000 Haj slot to the country in this year’s Hajj with 75,000 allocated to the 36 state pilgrims welfare boards /Agency/Commissions including the FCT and Armed forces,while 20000 is allocated to the private Tour operators.
Speaking with newsmen at the 2023 Hajj Expo holding in Jeddah after the signing of the Hajj agreement in Saudi Arabia, Hassan said the expo could not have come at a better time than now when Information Technology and Innovation are ruling the world and determining the pace of development.
He said his leadership would live up to expectations, meet up with the global needs and align with the vision 2030 of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on hajj related matters.
Alhaji Hassan also assured Muslim pilgrims in Nigeria of excellent 2023 Hajj and Umrah services, adding that all the stakeholders have been mobilised for synergy and effective service delivery.
The four-day Hajj and Umrah 2023 exhibition commenced in Jeddah Saudi Arabia on Monday with over 400 exhibitors on various aspect of Hajj and Umrah services in a colourful display of their goods and services.
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The Saudi Arabian Minister of Hajj and Umrah,Tawfiq Al-Rabiah, in company of other stakeholders inspected the various stands of 2023 International Hajj exhibition holding in Superdome, Jeddah.
The exhibition dubbed: Hajj Expo 2023, was under tight security checks due to the presence and attendance of high profile government functionaries from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as well as very important personalities that graced the occasion.
On the side line of the MoU, the delegation met with the Mutawwif of African Non- Arab,whose Chairman Ahmad Sindi,assured the country of its readiness to make the 2023 Hajj better than the previous years.
He further disclosed that his agency in a bid to create more rooms and space to pilgrims have adopted the use of double deck bed at the Mashair for some countries this year.
He therefore urged the participating countries to work assiduously to achieve a hitch- free Hajj 2023.
Also, Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Saudi Arabia, Dr. Tawfiq Rabiah has announced that Hajj numbers this year will return as it was before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Dr. Rabiah stated this during the opening day of Hajj Expo 2023 held in Jeddah Monday. He said: “the Number of Hajj pilgrims in 1444H will return to how it was before the Coronavirus pandemic without age restrictions.”
This comes after Hajj in the last three years was held with limited numbers, 1000, 60,000, and 1 million in 2020, 2021, and 2022 respectively. Additionally, several restrictions such as the maximum age limit being 65 years and PCR tests before travel were being applied.
In 2019, about 2.5 million people took part in the pilgrimage. For the next two years, numbers were drastically curtailed to limit the spread of COVID-19 during the pandemic
Speaking at the Hajj Expo 2023 taking place in Jeddah, Tawfiq Al-Rabiah said there would also be no age restrictions during this year’s Hajj.
